Global Links

Houston is the energy capital of the world. Almost half of Houstonís economic base is driven by energy, with more than 3,600 energy related companies based in Houston. All of the major oil and gas companies have operations in Houston. Houston has almost 40,000 jobs just on oil and gas extraction, representing a third of such positions world wide.

Education
The University of Houston has
launched an undergraduate
program in petroleum engineering
that will combine the
fundamentals of petroleum
engineering and geosciences with
economics, energy law and
business. The program, along
with the pre-existing masterís
degree, aims to fill gaps in the
aging workforce and arm
graduates with the skills needed
to respond to the evolving
industry.

Research
The UH Energy initiative takes
an integrated,
interdisciplinary, translational
approach to combine many
research areas, ranging from the
exploration of new sources
(previously inextricable oil and
fossil fuels), testing and
enhanced production processes of
discovered sources (fossil fuels
and biofuels), efficient storage
and packaging of known sources
(wind and solar), and
cost-efficient transportation
and delivery of acquired sources
(electric power), with the
ultimate goal of meeting the
energy needs of tomorrow. Our
leadership will come through
engaging researchers from
multiple disciplines in
exciting, cutting-edge research
synergy.

Industry Partnerships
Speeding new technologies to
industry is a key strategy of UH
research programs which is
developed through partnerships
with energy industries. The UH
Texas Diesel Testing & Research
Center provides fuels and
emissions testing with a wide
range of commercial firms and
government agencies. Technical
training in energy generation
processes is a collaborative
program between UH and Power
Technology Institute. UH
technology in superconductive
electrical power transmission
will be commercialized in UHERP
by Superpower, Inc. Additional
programs are in development.

Economic Development
The UH manufacturing incubator
will offer mixed use space for
light manufacturing and
assembly. Small and start-up
businesses depend on a community
of similar firms and a pool of
educated but entrepreneurial
labor. The critical missing
element is the availability of
space that can be rented and
converted at a low or subsidized
cost. UH is planning to make ERP
buildings available as incubator
space.